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Live from the UN: Rethink, Reset, Deliver Better with Data & AI
Join us live from United Nations headquarters today at 5:30 pm ET! Global leaders, policymakers, technologists, and frontline partners will convene for a UN-hosted live event during the General Assembly High-level Week. The event will examine how smarter use of data and technology, supported by renewed coherence and efficiency, can unlock new solutions to global challenges. This livestream event is produced in partnership between the Complex Risk Analytics Fund, or CRAF’d, and GZERO Media’s Global Stage series. Watch live at https://www.gzeromedia.com/unglobalstage.
Tony Maciulis, GZERO Media's global chief content officer, will moderate a discussion with an expert panel:
- Guy Ryder, Under-Secretary-General for Policy, United Nations
- Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs & Emergency Relief Coordinator, OCHA, United Nations
- Ugochi Daniels, Deputy Director General of UN Migration
- Dr. Comfort Ero, President & CEO, International Crisis Group
- Gunn Jorid Roset, Director General, Norad
- Dr. Ahmed Ogwell, President & CEO, VillageReach
The panel will cover key themes of this year's UN General Assembly, including:
- UN80 and the Humanitarian Compact: How a renewed multilateral system can link humanitarian response with sustainable development
- Data, analytics, and AI for crisis action: How emerging technologies can help anticipate risks, unlock funding, and strengthen delivery on the ground
- From data to development: How investments in data and digital public goods can power both immediate response and long-term resilience
The UN at 80: Reform, cuts & the future of multilateralism
The United Nations is marking its 80th anniversary under intense pressure: shrinking resources, deep geopolitical divisions, and global challenges left unresolved.
“The question is not whether the UN’s mandate is good ... it’s whether we are equipped, and whether the world is ready, to pursue it.”
UN Under-Secretary-General Guy Ryder joins GZERO Media’s Tony Maciulis from the sidelines of the 2025 UN General Assembly to discuss the UN80 initiative, which aims to streamline mandates, cut costs, and restore public trust.
This conversation is presented by GZERO in partnership with Microsoft, from the 2025 UN General Assembly. The Global Stage series convenes global leaders for critical conversations on the geopolitical and technological trends shaping our world.
UN's Guy Ryder calls for inclusivity and collaboration to tackle global problems
In a Global Stage conversation from inside the United Nations headquarters during the 79th General Assembly, Guy Ryder, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, addressed the challenges of global collaboration in today’s divided world. Despite geopolitical tensions and ongoing conflicts, Ryder stressed that member states are committed to implementing the Pact for the Future, an inter-governmentally negotiated pact focused on tackling today's global issues to protect the needs and interests of future generations.
Speaking with GZERO’s Tony Maciulis, Ryder highlighted the importance of inclusivity in moving forward. "We need to work not for young people but with young people as well. Everybody's involved," he said. Ryder emphasized that collaboration across governments, the private sector, and civil society is critical, particularly in areas like technology and youth participation.
The discussion also touched on the UN’s role in AI governance, with Ryder noting that the UN remains the only place where all 193 member states have a seat at the table. He acknowledged the UN’s shortcomings but highlighted how UN successes are often invisible. "What about that war that never happened because of UN mediation?"
Mr. Ryder also reinforced that the UN is not above reform: "Let's not think that was put in place in 1945, and has served very well the international community for decades, is immutable, is perfect, cannot be improved."
On the topic of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Ryder remained optimistic, despite setbacks. “We were off track almost from the first day,” he said, adding that the world must continue pushing towards the 2030 goals. Ryder sees technology as a powerful tool for both skilling and education, critical for achieving the SDGs.
Can we use AI to secure the world's digital future?
How do we ensure AI is safe, available to everyone, and enhancing productivity? It’s a big topic at this year’s UN General Assembly. That’s why GZERO’s Global Stage livestream on Tuesday brought together leading experts at the heart of the action for “Live from the United Nations: Securing our Digital Future,” an event produced in partnership between the Complex Risk Analytics Fund, or CRAF’d, and GZERO Media’s Global Stage series, sponsored by Microsoft. The conversation was moderated by Folly Bah Thibault, a journalist and senior presenter for Al-Jazeera English.
Securing the future starts by building a strong foundation, and the International Monetary Fund plays a key role in the fight by matching funding to the needs of developing economies. But it goes deeper than that, said Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva. “What we deliver is not just money, it is putting in place strong institutions.
”Those same strong institutions will help build a more peaceful world, said Czech President Petr Pavel — but only if countries can learn to compromise. “If we don’t want to live forever in conflict, we have to finally learn that we have to share this planet.”
In that sense, tackling a lot of the problems the world faces — conflict, inequality, technological disruption — boils down to finding shared values and putting funds where they are most needed. “What is regulation and policy if it is not based on values?” asked Under-Secretary-General for Policy Guy Ryder, adding that good policy, properly funded, would allow “you [to] connect people … and educate them to use the technologies” that could prove transformative.
Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said AI technology will play a crucial role in helping the world achieve Sustainable Development Goals — most of which are in very rough shape. “It’s not about stopping, it’s about really accelerating” to make good on what can be achieved by 2030.
Eurasia Group and GZERO Media President Ian Bremmer said his work with the UN on developing an international framework for AI has focused on “deploying AI to help up meet the sustainable development goals.”
But safeguards aren’t enough, said Microsoft President Brad Smith. “Guardrails aren’t going to ensure it reaches everybody. Investment will,” he said. Microsoft is the largest investor in OpenAI and has invested in more than 20 AI-related startups.
The US State Department is also working to leverage artificial intelligence in advancing global peace. “We see data as the lens that brings the factors that drive instability into focus,” said Anne Witkowsky, assistant secretary of state for conflict and stabilization operations. That means using AI to bring together the big picture — economics, politics, climate, sociology — to identify hot spots before problems spiral.
Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development Workneh Gebeyehu offered a practical example: “We have a climate center that works for all Africa to predict droughts, floods, and locust storms,” relying on pattern recognition technology. That helps farmers and governments react in real-time, ideally avoiding the worst of the catastrophes.
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